


Meanwhile, Derek Hale - Episode 502

by mllelouise



Series: Meanwhile, Derek Hale [2]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Knitting, M/M, episode coda
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-05
Updated: 2015-08-05
Packaged: 2018-04-08 15:42:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4310994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mllelouise/pseuds/mllelouise
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek befriends a local knitting club to get intel aka what Derek does during episode 502.</p><p>Beta reading by <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/users/laduchessederat">La Duchesse d'Erat</a> all remaining mistakes are mine.</p><p> <a href="http://theladyandthewolves.tumblr.com/post/125914282828/meanwhile-derek-hale-episode-502">find it on tumblr</a></p>
            </blockquote>





	Meanwhile, Derek Hale - Episode 502

It’s been a long day leading nowhere and Derek is happy to come back to his quiet motel room, kicking off his boots, lying on the bed, resting his eyes just five minutes.

 

He wakes up hours later in the middle of the night, hungry and less sad. It hasn’t been a day spent completely in vain, he thinks, touching the yarn he had thrown down on the bed next to him.

 

For starters, no one tried to kill him in the last 48 hours. He found a place serving a strawberry cheesecake that could go on his top 10 favorite desserts if he were a food blogger.

 

He learned to knit socks from the woman who was supposed to give him a lead on the Desert Wolf but actually didn’t know anything. Though she turned out to be an excellent knitting teacher.

 

So. So today he knitted socks. For Stiles. Uneven socks, dropped knots everywhere, grey with a black little wolf paw on the side. 

 

Not the dream gift. He probably shouldn’t send them, he thinks, slowly falling back into sleep.

 

-

 

“For a first time, it’s pretty well done, Daniel,” Eloise Parton smiles, twisting the socks between her experienced fingers, and Derek doesn’t hear any lie, nor does he see the point in correcting what she thinks is his name. She’s helping him finish the little wolf paw on the side of the left sock, gently guiding his fingers as he threads the black Merinos onto the grey socks.

 

Eloise reminds Derek of his grandmother, aging, forgetting names and what food she needed to bring back from the store, but still remembering her first kiss and how to knit. He remembers the many times she tried to teach him to knit, every Christmas as the family gathered. Unfortunately Derek’s fingers had never seemed to get on board, then he’d grown up and judged it a stupid thing for kids, which he’d decided he wasn’t anymore.

 

“I’ve been knitting socks for my Raymond every Christmas since our first Christmas together,” Eloise’s friend Edna fondly smiles. 

“And I’ve been loving them since that first Christmas,” a man sitting across the room, playing chess with the chess club, shouts, “but not as much as I love you, darling.”

Edna giggles. “His hearing aids make him thinks he’s Superman.”

“I heard that,” he replies, half shouting.

“See?” Edna points out.

“Well,” Eloise says, “I hope your Stiles knows how lucky he is.”

 

Derek smiles politely, not sure anyone receiving such terrible socks would call themselves lucky.

 

-

 

“DOBBY IS FREE” Stiles texts him a few days after Derek finally decided to send him the socks. Followed by “Next time I go into the woods following a poor innocent dude I’ll make sure to wear it.” And “Did you make them? Like for real? Lil wolf paw and everything?” Then without waiting for an answer, “Thanks Der”.

 

Derek gets a wide smile on his face the second he reads Stiles' texts, wants to ask everything about that probably not so innocent dude, wants to know and stop wondering about what’s happening in Beacon Hills but he’s not sure he’s ready to accept he won’t be able to help, and asking would only make him worry more.

 

“Have you tried not following innocent people?” Derek texts back.

“How can I know they’re innocent if I don’t follow them first?” Stiles answers.

“Fair enough,” Derek writes.

“Totally blaming you for encouraging me if he sues for stalking.”

“Don’t stalk then. Find another way.”

 

His phone goes silent for a bit and Derek pictures Stiles searching for that other way. Probably while he’s sitting in a classroom when he’s should be listening to the teacher and get smarter and prepare himself a bright future. Not a fighting-against-supernatural-creatures one.

 

“Keep your enemies closer,” the next message says. “New plan. I...am gonna have a new bff.”

Derek snorts.

“Thank you Dear Sir for that excellent piece of advice ;-)” Stiles adds.

“Try to avoid trouble?”

“I always avoid trouble.”

“No you don’t. That’s how we met. Do I need to come back?” For a moment before Stiles answers, Derek wishes he’d say yes, wishes Stiles would tell him he needs him. Give Derek a reason to run back to him, leaving his mission behind. It’s silly. Immature and irresponsible. But it’s there and Derek wants to stop fighting his urge to worry about Stiles.

“Naa I’ll be fine. I have Liam. When he doesn’t fall into holes.”

Derek frowns at the untold story. At all the stories he’s missing.

“Be careful anyway,” he texts, slightly disappointed but knowing it’s better this way, staying on his own quest.

“You too,” Stiles sends back.

 

-

 

Three days later, Derek gets a selfie from Stiles, proudly wearing the socks. “Ready for Winter,” he texts.

 

Derek forwards the picture to Eloise, thanking her for welcoming him into the knitting club, apologizing for not being able to come back anytime soon.

 

“That’s a nice boyfriend you have there,” she writes back, “seems like you’re a lucky young man too.” 

Once again Derek doesn’t see the point in correcting her, but this time it has more to do with protecting his own daydreams than a sweet old lady’s ego.


End file.
